As blogged about here, I’ve been racking my brain about how to decorate our entryway. After going to Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, and Restoration Hardware recently, we’ve picked out some of the furniture. We are going to do a bold patterned rug in the adjoining living room, so we chose a solid color runner (5) to go under our Bluestone Console Table (4). We loved the Nailhead Chair (3) collection at Restoration, so will have one beside the table. We bought a big map print (1) on Etsy (ours is without the “Explore”) that we will mount in a thick black frame and hang over the table. There will be lots of coffee table books (see favorites below), an accent lamp (2) from Anthropologie, and many other frames and candles that we already own. The wall color will be “Glass of Milk” from the Martha Stewart Collection. It’s all coming together – slowly but surely. We’ve picked out some items for the living room, but only decided yesterday to mount the TV on top of the fireplace. One step at a time!
A Welcoming Entry
The entrance of a house is one of the most important areas, as it sets the precedent for the rest of your home. Our entry opens up to the living and formal dining area, so I want to make sure it’s welcoming and not cluttered. There are high ceilings and lots of natural lighting (one of my favorite things about the house!) – see picture below. Sasha and I have been scouring Houzz for the perfect entry setup. I am leaning towards a gorgeous, bright rug, a long wooden table with two simple Restoration Hardware chairs on either side, and (in my dreams) a Claire Desjardin painting hanging above. See some of our favorite Houzz finds are shown below – what do you think?
Progress on The Manor
I promised house updates, so here we go. Sasha and I stopped by The Manor after church, and I’m amazed at the progress so far. We have a team of 8 guys working everyday, and they are so diligent. We’ve got new doors, popcorn ceiling removal (in progress), a new bar, a new closet, cans for the recess lighting, holes for the invisible ceiling speakers, and all new siding on the house. Click here for ‘before’ pictures.
New cedar-wrap on the entry room beams
New hardy board all around the house – need to decide on a paint color
Standing in the new closet – recently placed sheet rock!
All new doors in the rooms
Popcorn removal in all of the rooms
The newly re-walled study
Where the treehouse will go (one day!)
The cedar-plank (pre-stain) in our bedrom
Space shoes for popcorn removal
The new bar space
Absolute chaos
The Taylor High School blue kitchen
So much popcorn – good thing that this guy is speedy!
Demolition
Construction on The Manor started yesterday, and it’s chaotic. I popped in on the way to Sasha’s last night, and there are holes everywhere. I cannot wait to share before-and-after pictures of everything, but it’s going to take awhile. We are re-wiring the house for lighting, knocking down walls to expand our closet space (he’s an angel, really), ripping up carpet for wood floors, removing popcorn from the ceiling, adding all new wood panels outside, putting in new cabinets/granite/doors/sinks/showers, building a new fireplace and custom bar, etc. It’s exhausting. My brain is at full capacity right now – but it is exciting too. I’ve added two pictures of our new closet (hard to tell what’s going on…) – my favorite room of the house!
Our pied-a-terre will be quite different looking in a few months!
